Consumer Rights: MoneySavingExpert.com discussion

LRJo

Help Please!

Bear with my rant and ramble, but I am very angry and stressed!!!!!

On 11/7 my Daughter discovered , by chance, that the Bridal Dress Franchise where she has bought her dress from had closed down - no notice in shop and no stock!!.
You can imagine her shock and horror, her wedding is in less than 3 weeks time.
The dress, accessories and alterations had been paid in full , partly by credit card and the rest by cash and cheque.

She phoned the Franchise HQ but and answerphone message informed that no one was available until 20/7. Then she conatcted the nearest franchise store, who informed her that they had some of the stock, and that they would try to find her gown, and get back to her. Later that day she was informed that her dress may be with a seamstress , that she should stop panicking and it would probably eventually turn up! and that she still had plenty of time!

A week later my daughter has still not had any contact from the Franchise company re her dress.So we took the decision to purchase another dress, which we did yesterday( no mean feat, as most gowns have to be ordered months in advance, and who wants to wear a dress that is always going to be second best , on their big day?)

Today I contacted the Franchise HQ and was referred to another telephone number. When I made contact I asked for company details etc as I intended to claim a full refund as I had made payment with a credit card.

At 5pm tonight I have recieved a phone call to say that the Dress has been located - it is with a seamstress , who is waiting for us to contact her to arrange a fitting. That the Lady on the phone had made lots of personal phone calls to locate the dress and that there is no problem as the there is still plenty of time before the wedding.

My dillema is that the franchise company have said that they have no liability and that all claims will have to made against the Franchisee (wherever she is). How do I claim recourse for dress number 2 and how long is considered to be a reasonable time before we made the decision to purchase dress number 2 ?(I personally feel that with just over 2 weeks to go before the big day, we had no option but to salvage the situation.) As an asside I have also had to take A/L to help my daughter search for the new dress and incurred additional expenses - apart from paying for 2 dresses.

Do I have case, and how is best to go about this?

Any help/advice will be much appreciated.

LRJo

Help Please!

Bear with my rant and ramble, but I am very angry and stressed!!!!!

On 11/7 my Daughter discovered , by chance, that the Bridal Dress Franchise where she has bought her dress from had closed down - no notice in shop and no stock!!.
You can imagine her shock and horror, her wedding is in less than 3 weeks time.
The dress, accessories and alterations had been paid in full , partly by credit card and the rest by cash and cheque.

She phoned the Franchise HQ but and answerphone message informed that no one was available until 20/7. Then she conatcted the nearest franchise store, who informed her that they had some of the stock, and that they would try to find her gown, and get back to her. Later that day she was informed that her dress may be with a seamstress , that she should stop panicking and it would probably eventually turn up! and that she still had plenty of time!

A week later my daughter has still not had any contact from the Franchise company re her dress.So we took the decision to purchase another dress, which we did yesterday( no mean feat, as most gowns have to be ordered months in advance, and who wants to wear a dress that is always going to be second best , on their big day?)

Today I contacted the Franchise HQ and was referred to another telephone number. When I made contact I asked for company details etc as I intended to claim a full refund as I had made payment with a credit card.

At 5pm tonight I have recieved a phone call to say that the Dress has been located - it is with a seamstress , who is waiting for us to contact her to arrange a fitting. That the Lady on the phone had made lots of personal phone calls to locate the dress and that there is no problem as the there is still plenty of time before the wedding.

My dillema is that the franchise company have said that they have no liability and that all claims will have to made against the Franchisee (wherever she is). How do I claim recourse for dress number 2 and how long is considered to be a reasonable time before we made the decision to purchase dress number 2 ?(I personally feel that with just over 2 weeks to go before the big day, we had no option but to salvage the situation.) As an asside I have also had to take A/L to help my daughter search for the new dress and incurred additional expenses - apart from paying for 2 dresses.

Do I have case, and how is best to go about this?

Any help/advice will be much appreciated.

Art_2

LRJo wrote: »

Help Please!

Bear with my rant and ramble, but I am very angry and stressed!!!!!

On 11/7 my Daughter discovered , by chance, that the Bridal Dress Franchise where she has bought her dress from had closed down - no notice in shop and no stock!!.
You can imagine her shock and horror, her wedding is in less than 3 weeks time.
The dress, accessories and alterations had been paid in full , partly by credit card and the rest by cash and cheque.

She phoned the Franchise HQ but and answerphone message informed that no one was available until 20/7. Then she conatcted the nearest franchise store, who informed her that they had some of the stock, and that they would try to find her gown, and get back to her. Later that day she was informed that her dress may be with a seamstress , that she should stop panicking and it would probably eventually turn up! and that she still had plenty of time!

A week later my daughter has still not had any contact from the Franchise company re her dress.So we took the decision to purchase another dress, which we did yesterday( no mean feat, as most gowns have to be ordered months in advance, and who wants to wear a dress that is always going to be second best , on their big day?)

Today I contacted the Franchise HQ and was referred to another telephone number. When I made contact I asked for company details etc as I intended to claim a full refund as I had made payment with a credit card.

At 5pm tonight I have recieved a phone call to say that the Dress has been located - it is with a seamstress , who is waiting for us to contact her to arrange a fitting. That the Lady on the phone had made lots of personal phone calls to locate the dress and that there is no problem as the there is still plenty of time before the wedding.

My dillema is that the franchise company have said that they have no liability and that all claims will have to made against the Franchisee (wherever she is). How do I claim recourse for dress number 2 and how long is considered to be a reasonable time before we made the decision to purchase dress number 2 ?(I personally feel that with just over 2 weeks to go before the big day, we had no option but to salvage the situation.) As an asside I have also had to take A/L to help my daughter search for the new dress and incurred additional expenses - apart from paying for 2 dresses.

Do I have case, and how is best to go about this?

Any help/advice will be much appreciated.

This is not a happy story. Firstly, the second dress, the replacement one. You have bought this and it is yours. As it wasn't made to measure you might be able to ask the retailer if he will take it back and to make a small re-stocking fee for you. If the retailer refuses you have no recourse on him unfortunately.

I assume you would prefer the original made to measure dress. As this has now been located I suggest you go ahead and take possession as quickly as possible. has the seamstress been paid? If not you may have this additional cost.

As for seeking compensation, it won't be easy if the franchise has ceased trading. It's worth talking to your local Trading Standards Department to see if they have a file on this franchise. Maybe others are in a similar position. At the very least notify your credit card company of your problem and ask them to assist.

Regards,
Art.

Victors_Bruvver

I need some advice please on where to go next.
In October 2006 I bought some fitted wardrobes from Hammonds and in April this year drawer runner badly damaged the inside of one of the doors. I emailed Hammonds at the time and got no response and then finally decided in June to call them, even though they use a 0870 for "Customer Service".
They sent me a form to complete and a few days later they rang to say that the service department demanded that I pay £50.00 for a call out charge which is refundable if the claim proves valid. I have responded by writing to them and quoting what, I think, are my rights under the Supply of Goods & Services Act 1982 (as amended). Hammonds have responded but are still insisting that this charge is a standard Company Policy and is non-negotiable and must be paid before any site visits being carried out. Where do I go from here please? I do not want to spend too much time on this, but I am peeved enough to follow this through to get at least some satisfaction that the £3000.00 I originally paid them covers the goods for a reasonable length of time.
By the way, since the initial problem with the runner, a badly thought out component (a wheel to protect the doors) has since fallen off too.

Art_2

Victors_Bruvver wrote: »

I need some advice please on where to go next.
In October 2006 I bought some fitted wardrobes from Hammonds and in April this year drawer runner badly damaged the inside of one of the doors. I emailed Hammonds at the time and got no response and then finally decided in June to call them, even though they use a 0870 for "Customer Service".
They sent me a form to complete and a few days later they rang to say that the service department demanded that I pay £50.00 for a call out charge which is refundable if the claim proves valid. I have responded by writing to them and quoting what, I think, are my rights under the Supply of Goods & Services Act 1982 (as amended). Hammonds have responded but are still insisting that this charge is a standard Company Policy and is non-negotiable and must be paid before any site visits being carried out. Where do I go from here please? I do not want to spend too much time on this, but I am peeved enough to follow this through to get at least some satisfaction that the £3000.00 I originally paid them covers the goods for a reasonable length of time.
By the way, since the initial problem with the runner, a badly thought out component (a wheel to protect the doors) has since fallen off too.

Write to their head office stating the faults and tell them that under the Sale of Goods Act you are rejecting the goods as being unfit for the purpose intended. Tell them you want a refund and if the matter isn't dealt with within 10 days you will sue in the Small Claims Court.

This may bring them to their senses and get you the repair you are entitled to. As you are finding other problems it may be better to demand a refund but that is up to you.

If they do not respond satisfactorily in the 10 days take them to the Small Claims Court.

Send your letter recorded delivery.

Regards,
Art.

LRJo

Art wrote: »

This is not a happy story. Firstly, the second dress, the replacement one. You have bought this and it is yours. As it wasn't made to measure you might be able to ask the retailer if he will take it back and to make a small re-stocking fee for you. If the retailer refuses you have no recourse on him unfortunately.

I assume you would prefer the original made to measure dress. As this has now been located I suggest you go ahead and take possession as quickly as possible. has the seamstress been paid? If not you may have this additional cost.

As for seeking compensation, it won't be easy if the franchise has ceased trading. It's worth talking to your local Trading Standards Department to see if they have a file on this franchise. Maybe others are in a similar position. At the very least notify your credit card company of your problem and ask them to assist.

Regards,
Art.

Thanks for the advice Art.
The second dress is non returnable and was altered on day of purchase, due to the tight timescale.

I have taken legal advice and , although I have a moral arrgument, I have no legal recourse.

Trading Standards have managed to speak to Francisee, who disputes any liability, despite inconsistencies in story.

Have decide to just put the whole to bed for now and concentrate on giving our daughter a great wedding.

Bridal Franchise

yefi

If you purchase online and discover an item is faulty within the 7 days, what is the stand on return carriage? I notice some companies will refund you the difference on your next purchase etc. Do you have a right to demand that they pay for return delivery?

Art_2

yefi wrote: »

If you purchase online and discover an item is faulty within the 7 days, what is the stand on return carriage? I notice some companies will refund you the difference on your next purchase etc. Do you have a right to demand that they pay for return delivery?

The law is very clear. The consumer should be left in the original state if a product is faulty so the cost of postage etc should be borne by the retailer.

Regards,
Art.

yefi

Art wrote: »

The law is very clear. The consumer should be left in the original state if a product is faulty so the cost of postage etc should be borne by the retailer.

Regards,
Art.

I see. Some e-tailers will insist you bear the cost initially but will promise to refund you upon determining the goods to be faulty. Because that would leave you in status quo ante if the product is faulty, they could still do that?

jap220171

I seem to be going round in circles with this, so I wondered if anyone out there could offer a different perspective on how to resolve it.

I bought a new kitchen about April time, and because of advice I had read on this site, paid for it on credit card. The kitchen was fitted in May, and since then we have had multiple problems with the kitchen as fitted. To be fair the suppliers have been good and repaired or replaced the items that they could. However, the main problem is that they mis-measured and so we are left with an open "tray-space" where we should have had a small cupboard. During the initial planning stage we were quite clear that we wanted no open spaces, as they are dirt traps, but this has now been forced on us as they measured the length of the wall wrongly. There were other problems with them not sticking to our instructions and some of the cabinets are finished to a poor quality.

We have complained to them and got no-where, and so I complained to Natwest Credit Card Services and told them that under the Consumer Credit Act they were jointly liable and asked them to sort it. They told me that they can only get involved if I get a second opinion in writing from a rival Kitchen company. However, obtaining a second opinion is proving very difficult, and if I can find another company that will do it, there will no doubt be a charge for it. I am loathe to fork out more cash without any guarantee that this will help.

My view is that Natwest are being unreasonable in refusing to consider a complaint without a second opinion in writing, but perhaps I am too involved in this to see with proper perspective. I am at the stage where I am just considering letting them get away with it, but I don't feel that this is right.

Any help? Any suggestions on what I should try next?